


an endless road to rediscover (hey brother)

by LiteraLi



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 8x10, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brother-Sister Relationships, F/M, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Hopeful Ending, Missing Scene, Mother-Son Relationship, Spolicity, Spoliver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:52:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteraLi/pseuds/LiteraLi
Summary: 8x10 missing scene/fix-it. Felicity and William speak in the bunker after his rescue, and she shares a couple of life-changing pieces of information with him.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, William Clayton & Felicity Smoak, William Clayton & Mia Smoak
Comments: 14
Kudos: 166





	an endless road to rediscover (hey brother)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I really felt poor William was given the short stick - both last season in the FFs and in 8x10. He deserved an explanation about everything that happened - and to at least have some interaction with one or more of his family members in 8x10 (besides adult Mia!). I also really wanted to see Felicity tell him about what happened to Oliver AND about his baby sister! I know there are some other really great versions of this, I hope you’ll enjoy my take! It ended up being a bit angsty but it has a happy/hopeful ending, I promise :)
> 
> Song title from Hey Brother by Avicii

Felicity paces in the bunker, back and forth over the raised platform where her computers still sit. She can't stop worrying, even though she knows now that William is safe and on his way back to the bunker. Felicity hadn't been listening in on the search, so she only heard second-hand that William had been found and she won’t be able to calm down until she sees him in person. She had helped track his location the whole time, but when everyone went out in the field she had let Curtis take over on comms.

She's not ready to be Overwatch to someone who isn't Oliver.

Although there's technically another Green Arrow out in the field right now. But Felicity is having a hard time wrapping her head around that one - William is safe because Mia, her  _ daughter _ from the  _ future _ , has rescued him. This woman, a grown-up version of the baby she cradled in her arms this morning, who's back at home with her mother, is the Green Arrow in the future. 

A future that doesn't include Oliver. She blinks back tears and tries to focus on the matter at hand.  _ William _ . What will she say to him? It's been so long since she's seen or spoken to him, and he's just been kidnapped,  _ again. _

The elevator opens suddenly and Mia and William walk out. Felicity freezes, somewhat hidden behind the monitors. Before she can decide if she wants to go over to Mia or not, the young woman makes her way over to where Dinah and Roy are changing out of their suits. That's right, Mia apparently knows the two of them relatively well, both future  _ and _ present-day versions of them. Or, she did know them, in the other universe. Felicity shakes her head, not mentally capable to start working all of that out right now. Whatever the reason, she's managed to avoid talking to grown-up Mia for now, which is good because she isn't ready for that.

She turns her attention to William instead. John, Lyla and Thea are fussing over him, and he seems physically fine but emotionally overwhelmed. Felicity is conflicted. It’s been so long since she’s seen him and she wants nothing but to go right over to him. But she has all of these old memories and new memories and things she’s seen in the book of Oa mixed together and jumbled around in her head and she doesn’t know how William will react to seeing her. She messed up in the other reality, she knows - she hadn’t gotten William back and he and Mia grew up apart and that makes her hesitate.

But only for a moment. 

Because that was then and this is now. Because Oliver  _ gave up his life for this _ and that is her  _ son. _

She runs towards him and engulfs him in a huge hug, not leaving him any time to protest. And William, thankfully, hugs her back, clinging to her tightly.

After an eternity Felicity pulls back and cups her son’s face in her hands. William looks so much like Oliver and their position reminds her so much of when she said goodbye to Oliver. She can’t stop from tearing up.

“I’m sorry,” she tells William, whose eyes are watery too. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to reach you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you this past month. And I’m sorry you got kidnapped,  _ again _ . I’m going to do better from now on, I promise.”

William hasn’t said anything yet, he just nods and pulls his face out of Felicity’s grip slowly.

“I missed you,” William says slowly, “I wondered why you never called.”

“We did!” Felicity exclaims and rushes to explain, “But there was no answer. And we tried your grandparents too but they said you weren’t ready to talk to us yet so we tried to give you some space. Then a few months ago we decided enough was enough and we were going to find you and speak to you no matter what but then everything happened and I-”

William shakes his head, hurt and confused. “I never got any calls. And my grandparents never said anything to me about you or Dad calling. I wanted to call but I couldn’t get through and my grandparents said you moved and changed your number. I thought maybe you didn’t want to hear from me, that you were mad at me for leaving.”

Felicity’s eyes widen as she comprehends what William is telling her. She can’t fathom that his grandparents would do that - but then again, she never did like them.

“Never!” She tells William firmly and reaches out to caress his arm. “We did move and we did change our number - we went into hiding because there was a threat, I’ll explain everything to you. But your grandparents knew how to reach us, I swear. I’m so sorry, bud. I’ll make up for it. You will always, always, always have a home with me, I promise.”

William seems to be in shock at what she’s telling him and he suddenly seems not so steady on his feet. The adrenaline that must be wearing off after his kidnapping and rescue clearly isn’t helping the situation, either.

“Come here, honey,” Felicity wraps an arm around him - which is not easy, considering he seems to have grown several inches in the year since she’s seen him. She leads him to the couch they have in the corner of the bunker. “Come sit down.”

Once they’re seated, Felicity clasps one of William’s hands in hers and gives him a moment to adjust to the information they’ve both just learned. She also makes sure he drinks some water that John had thoughtfully brought over before leaving to give them some space.

When William finally speaks, it breaks her heart.

“I didn’t get to spend his last year with him. And now he’s gone, and I’ll never see him again. I’m mad at my grandparents for keeping him away and I’m mad at the two of you for not  _ trying harder  _ but most of all I’m mad at  _ myself  _ for leaving.” His voice is quiet and his words are rushed; filled with so much pain and anguish.

Felicity squeezes her son’s hand a little tighter and moves closer to him, so he knows he can lean on her if he needs to, both physically and emotionally.

It’s clear to her that William is going through one of the first stages of grief - anger. She herself had been angry for so long - angry at the Monitor, angry at Oliver for making this deal, angry at Barry and Kara for being the reason he did. Then when the anger dissipated, there was depression - she hadn’t been able to get out of bed this past month, not even for Mia.

But she had gotten up when she heard her son was in danger. Going on without Oliver is going to be the hardest thing she’s ever had to do, but she needs to be strong for her children and that starts now. That starts right here with thinking of something she can say that will comfort William.

Felicity racks her brain, trying to think of the best thing to say to her son right now. Should she tell him that in an alternate universe, he time travels to the past and gets to spend time with his father in his final days? She wishes she could give him those memories, but she’s not sure that the memory-restoring device would work on him, seeing as he isn’t yet the age that the other version of him had experienced them. Or will this version of William also get to time-travel in the future and will telling him that make it so that it doesn’t happen? 

All of this re-sparking the universe stuff has really thrown her for a loop and she decides not to go down that route. Instead, she tells him something that she’s been telling herself.

“First of all,” she starts, looking William in the eye, “it’s okay to feel angry. And I am  _ so, so _ sorry that we didn’t try harder. But what happened, it’s not your fault. At the end of the day, as much is it hurts, it was Oliver- it was your  _ father’s  _ decision to sacrifice himself for you and me and everyone else in the entire multiverse. Like everything he’s ever done, he did it because he believed it was the right thing to do and because he loves us.”

It takes everything in her not to start crying again. She’s sure William is also remembering the time she told him something similar, while they both watched Oliver fight so gracefully on her monitors.  _ That's what makes this love deeper than other kinds of love, because we can't take things for granted.  _ And they have to believe he’s going to be okay. Which brings her to her second point.

“There’s so much I have to explain to you. But I want you to know that your father is okay and he’s at peace.” Felicity jumps into the explanation about how Oliver died - the first time - and how she read in the book of Oa what had to happen. How he was revived in the Lazarus Pit but became something else, became the Spectre. How he re-sparked the multiverse and his mortal form did not survive. But how he also wasn’t completely gone.

“So, he’s dead but he’s also not dead?” William ponders, his face scrunched up in confusion. He’s the brightest kid Felicity knows, but it makes complete sense that he would have a hard time wrapping his head around this. Hell, even she can’t totally comprehend it.

“Yes, essentially,” Felicity tries to explain. “He can’t really exist on this plane. He’s himself but he’s also something else. He’s both. He can’t be here with us, not in the sense that we’re used to. But that also means that he’s out there somewhere and we  _ will _ see him again.”

William still looks a bit lost, but his features have softened, this bit of information easing a little of his grief and bringing him some solace.

“I’m sorry I can’t really explain it much better, or give you an exact when or where,” Felicity continues, smoothing an errant wisp of hair out of her son’s face, “because there’s still so much I don’t understand either. But you and me, bud, we’re sticking together now and we’re going to figure this all out.” 

She doesn’t even ask William if that’s what he wants - to live with her now, or at least part-time. Because they gave him a choice before and look where that led them. The idea of going on like this, of living without Oliver  _ and _ without her son is unfathomable.

She needs  _ both _ of her children.

With that thought, Felicity figures now is as good a time as any to tell William what she’s wanted to tell him for almost a year.

William is quiet, looking down and fiddling with the water bottle cap. Felicity can’t dwell on how much even his fidgeting reminds her of Oliver or she’ll break down again. He still hasn’t said much and she’s sure he must have so many more questions. She also can’t help but be excited about the fact that he hasn’t said anything to make her think he wouldn’t want to come home with her after this. She takes stock of him one more time - her wonderful, brave boy, who’s gone through so much more than anyone his age should ever have to - and decides he seems to be relatively okay enough to hear this life-changing news.

“William, honey,” Felicity starts gently, “there’s something else I need to tell you.”

That gets him to look up at her at least, although he seems apprehensive, which only makes her more nervous. Her eyes flicker over to the other side of the bunker for a moment where she can just barely make out the form of adult Mia, still in the Green Arrow suit but with her hood down and mask off. The gesture clearly doesn’t go unnoticed, because William pipes up to ask- 

“Is this about the new Green Arrow, the one who rescued me? Do you know her?”

Felicity breathes out a sigh of relief. She didn’t  _ think _ she heard anything from Curtis’ play-by-plays of what was going on or seen anything on the footage of the rescue that would mean William already knew that the incredible young woman who saved him was actually his baby sister from the future, but she hadn’t been sure.

“No...well, not exactly,” she answers him, turning back to face him. William is giving her his full attention now, his eyes giving away how eager he is to hear what she has to say already.

This is it. She can’t make him wait any longer.

“After you left for Central City,” Felicity starts, playing with her ring and wishing Oliver could have been with her for this moment, “your Dad and I found out that I was going to have a baby.”

If the situation would have been any different, Felicity would have loved to get a picture of William’s shocked face; the way his eyebrows rise up and his jaw practically drops to the floor.

“A baby?” he sputters, looking first at her stomach and then around the bunker, as if expecting an infant to pop out from somewhere.

Felicity can’t help herself from chuckling. She reaches in her pocket, making sure she still has her phone with her.

“Yeah, bud. A baby. You have a little sister. Her name is Mia. She’s about five months old now and she’s going to be  _ so excited _ to meet you.”

“Baby sister,” William repeats to himself under his breath, clearly still trying to process this revelation, “Mia.”

“And don’t worry that you missed out on these last few months. Again, I am  _ so _ sorry we didn’t find a way to tell you. We were hiding from the Ninth Circle, which I just realized I didn’t actually tell you about yet, but I will, soon, I promise,” Felicity rambles. “Anyway the point is she’s a baby and she’s not going to remember there ever being a time she didn’t know you.”

“Is she here?” William asks, completely ignoring everything she’s just said. He has broken out in the most beautiful grin and seems so excited. It’s a complete one-eighty from before and Felicity’s heart feels like it’s going to burst in her chest. It’s bittersweet, but she focuses on the sweet - how her wonderful little girl is helping to bring some happiness into their lives today. She suddenly misses her baby daughter ferociously. 

“No, honey, she’s at home with my mother. But I’m going to make sure you meet her as soon as possible. I have pictures meanwhile, if you’d like to see.” 

From his enthusiastic nodding, William most definitely would.

Felicity doesn’t know how long they spend looking through photos and videos. They start at the very beginning, with some photos of her baby bump and then pictures from the day Mia was born. They’re both deeply affected by seeing Oliver in the photos - it’s the first time Felicity has looked at pictures of him since hearing of his death, and she imagines it’s the first time for William too. She tries to focus on how happy and content he looked - napping with Mia, playing with her, and posing for ridiculous selfies with her. There are some videos of him as well, but she doesn’t play them; she’s not ready yet.

They reach the last photo with Oliver in it and as much as it hurts, Felicity moves on through the rest of the reel, sharing little anecdotes about what Mia is doing in the pictures as they come up. William is soaking up every bit of information she volunteers and still has the most beautiful little smile on his face as he sets his eyes on his sister’s photos for the first time. Felicity is so grateful for this time she gets to share with her son, ‘introducing’ him to his baby sister. She’s able to avoid thinking about everything else that’s happened for a little while, even though it’s never far from her mind that Oliver will never get to experience these moments with her and their family in the same way again.

All too quickly, they’ve gone through all of the photos and Felicity senses the mood becoming somber again.

But then William looks around the bunker again, clearly realizing that Felicity had never answered his previous question. 

“Wait, Felicity - what does all of this have to do with  _ her _ ?” 

Felicity follows his gaze to where Mia is heavily focused on cleaning her bow.

“Right. Well, there’s no easy way to prepare you for this one-”

William tilts his head, bewildered.

“ _ That _ is actually Mia, she came here from the year 2040, where she’s apparently taken on the Green Arrow’s mantle.”

Felicity  _ really _ wishes she would have thought to take a picture of  _ this  _ reaction.

She quickly tells William everything else she knows -  _ how crazy is it that  _ time travel _ is somehow more easy to explain than what happened to her husband _ ? - and he seems to be taking the news well enough.

“Can I meet her?” He asks eagerly, “I mean, I know it’s weird to meet the future her before I meet the present day, baby her, but-”

“Of course you can meet her,” Felicity pats William’s arm with a smile, “She already knows you, so I bet it won’t be as weird as you think.”

William gets up to make his way over to his sister, but turns when she doesn’t make a move to follow.

“You’re not coming?”

“No, hun, you go on. I’m not sure I’m ready to meet her just yet.” Felicity gives him what she hopes passes as an encouraging nod and William saunters off to meet his sister.

Felicity can’t tear her gaze away, though, and she watches as William walks over to Mia nervously. Mia must realize William knows who she is now, because she quickly closes the gap between them, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

Felicity feels her eyes pool with tears again. There it is - proof that Mia will get to grow up with her big brother, just like she and Oliver always wanted. The way that makes her feel is indescribable. 

She just has to walk around the bunker to get a better view of them interacting. Mia is animatedly pointing out the parts of her bow and William is looking on in awe. Felicity can’t stop the tears from flowing this time.

_ He makes his sacrifices and we have to make ours. _ Oliver has given up his chance at a normal life to become the Spectre and save the universe for her and her children, and in return, Felicity has had to sacrifice the chance to live out her life with her husband always by her side. But as she promised William just now, and Mia back at home, she knows they will still get to see Oliver again - some how, some way, albeit in another form.

The only way this works is if she believes it’s going to be okay.

So she lets herself believe.

And it is.

(Two days later, Felicity and William are back at home with baby Mia, and Spoliver shows up at the door…)

**Author's Note:**

> My head canon is that Oliver is able to somehow visit and be with his family, but the rest of the world doesn’t know he’s still ‘alive’. I know this turned out to be pretty angsty, but I tried to make it hopeful as well, because I really believe that Oliver deserved to get his happy ending - including those 20 years!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and I’d love to hear your thoughts and personal headcanons in the comments!


End file.
